[ANBU Class] On Stealth

[Kogami Ayumu]

Shuusei Touma
dNPC - Sileo Tempestas​

Stealth was one of the hallmarks of being a shinobi, or at least the traditional kind of shinobi. Nowadays, the hidden villages were producing less stealth inclined shinobi and more loud shock and awe type shinobi who launched explosive jutsu and had little care for getting in and out without leaving a trace. Still, the villages strived nonetheless to teach their shinobi the all important concept of stealth. ANBU especially tried to focus on the subject, as their missions often involved those where being seen was less than favorable. That was why all trainees usually received instruction on facets of stealth, and why many ANBU jutsu revolved around remaining unseen and untraced. That was why this class was taking place today. A few trainees sat at desks in the room looking half dead thanks to the earliness of the hour. There were still a few minutes left before the class was to begin, so any remaining students would need to rush in now to avoid being late and facing the teacher's wrath.

Of course, nobody had ever seen Touma angry. Shuusei Touma was an ANBU Captain of around the age of 24, and had been in the branch for several years, but nobody knew much about him. It probably didn't help that he was constantly wearing a mask that covered the lower part of his face, even in the privacy of the Sileo. Even now, the mask was adorned, though at least it wasn't a full ANBU mask which he most often wore when not in the Sileo. He was a mostly quiet type, making him seem cold and unfriendly at first, and it seemed whatever wrath he might be hiding it might be best not to tempt it. Perhaps that was why most of the students had shown up early and were waiting for the class to begin. Touma himself stood at the front of the classroom, his arms crossed as he stared at a clock hung on the back of the class, while leaning against the instructor's desk. He would start at precisely 8AM.

 

[Rabieru]

The door opened roughly just like the man who had closely followed behind. Almost as if barging into the classroom, staying far away from the actual subject of the lesson, the gray-haired hedonist entered the room with the fluttering of his cloak. On his face was a black mask that drew the contours of a man's face and his green-eyes seemed more vibrant than ever, being surrounded by pitch black. The sharp eyes shifted, inspecting the room that was already filled with other students and the teacher waiting in the middle of the room. He wasn't late and he had arrived exactly 1 minute before the class started. Kyouraku had been forced to sign up for this class in order to maintain his status as a trainee which was also required for him to run missions, the only existing source of cash for him. No cash meant no more pleasures and he definitely couldn't live without the later. Whatever the lesson was about, the man wished to finish it quickly and get the hell out of the place. He wasn't the type that enjoyed being trapped under borders of space or time. Taking out a hand-watch, Clockwork looked at the time and didn't take the effort to sit down but cosplayed the instructor by leaning against a desk that was nearby. He was still suffering from drinking too must last night and the exercise on the bed wasted most of his stamina. Conducting that act as soon as he woke up wasn't really a good idea because it made his body powerless. Without a single word, the hedonist waited, counting the ticking of his watch as time continued to flow.

[MFT WC: 280]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Touma was just about ready to begin the class early, thinking nobody would be coming this close to the actual beginning of class, but one individual proved him wrong. One minute before the class was scheduled to begin, a gentleman older than he strolled into the room. Looking at him, one wouldn't think him a trainee, but rather some higher rank due to his age. One couldn't see his face, but his stature and what was visible made it clear he was no child. This was no doubt the trainee known as Clockwork, only known to Touma because apparently the man had been forced to sign up for the class under threat of being removed from the trainee program. Touma had read a little of Touma's file, though he still didn't know much. Apparently he had started out as a very promising trainee, but fallen off the wagon somewhere along the way. By now, he was simply drifting by in the trainee program, doing the minimum to make money and avoid being kicked out. He staggered over to a desk and leaned against it, whereas the rest of the class had opted to sit. Touma didn't really care one way or another.

"Well then, let's begin," he said, parting with the desk to stand up straight. "Stealth is a very important trait for shinobi to have, though many have forgotten it with the advent of powerful jutsu. Indeed, we shinobi have been made into killing machines that can often face several normal men with the greatest of ease. But not all missions allow for us to rush in without thought," he started, walking to one side of the room while scanning the students with his eyes to make sure none of them were sleeping. "For instance, say there is a hostage situation and you know that if you are caught trying to infiltrate the facility the hostage takers will kill the hostage. Now, if you got to the room where the hostage was being held, you have a good chance of taking down those inside before the hostage comes to harm, but if you're seen before you ever get there, that hostage is long sense dead," he explained, for example. There was a similar mission to this scenario being undertaken by a trainee even as they sat there in the classroom.

"Can anybody give me an example of another mission which might require a more subtle approach?" Touma asked, looking around the classroom for someone to speak up. Most of them looked like they were half-dead due to the hour. Of course, if nobody spoke up he would simply single one of them out, whichever of them looked like they were most likely to not be paying attention possibly.

 

[Rabieru]

The ticking of the clock stopped exactly when the clockhand reached eight, the instructor of the class began to speak up. He started out with the explanation of stealth, something that Kyouraku Shogi had heard a numerous times during his previous classes about twenty years ago when he was actually the right age for the right class. It seemed that the teacher of the class was actually younger than the student but the hedonist didn't care for such thing and felt no shame on such situations because pride was never one of his important values and he had better things to do than to make a fuss and waste time on things like that. The glowing green eyes were locked onto the speaker, blinking only from time to time, with a stare that would have made the normal person feel uncomfortable.

The gray-haired trainee continued to listen to the instructor until he ended his words with a question and just like any other class, silence filled the room for a moment as the students quickly thought for an answer. Clockwork, having not much interest in the lesson itself, but being present only to fill up the mandatory hours to retain his status, crossed his arms and stayed silent, while his eyes stayed alive. It was the mentality that someone would obviously answer before he did, and the instructor would move on deeper into the subject. This was the sort of introduction or opener of the lesson and the hedonist didn't feel the need to emit his presence just yet. Plus, in every single class there were always those bright, happy children who were always the first to raise their hands and answer every question that the teacher made. Shogi was too old for that and his passion cold. There would be the time when he needs to show participation in order to avoid being kicked out of the class and being forced to join another one in the future. Now that would be a real hassle.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

As Touma was accustomed to whenever teaching a class, his question was met with silence and lethargy. Children were just lazy, and it almost always came down to him singling someone out to answer the question. "Very well then, I'll choose somebody," he said, looking around the room. His eyes landed on a somewhat new recruit who seemed to be barely hanging on to consciousness. When choosing a volunteer, he sometimes liked to pick on the half-asleep, if only to bring them back to the waking world so they wouldn't miss the whole lecture. It also served to encourage other sleepers to pay a bit more attention lest they be the next victim. "Kasuga Hiro," Touma spoke, staring a hole through the poor sleepy trainee who jumped at the sound of his name. Even in his barely conscious state, his full name would catch his attention. "An example of another mission that might require stealth?" Touma repeated, knowing the boy probably didn't hear the question the first time.

"Uhh...." the boy sputtered, trying to clear his fuzzy mind and think. "Another mission requiring stealth... maybe a hostage situa-" he started. "Just covered that example for those that were paying attention, another," Touma interrupted him, causing the boy to jump again. "Sorry! Um... a solo infiltration mission where being caught would mean bringing a lot of enemies in on your location?" the boy offered hopefully. Touma was decently satisfied with the answer, enough to accept it. "Yes... I can think of a mission which required a small team to infiltrate enemy ranks and retrieve an item of importance. Being caught would have turned hundreds on their location... while a shinobi is strong, sometimes numbers do matter," Touma responded, pacing around the side of his desk and ending up behind it. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk.

"Now of course, they teach you the basics of stealth in the Academy. You all know how to move quietly. Shinobi sandals are standard because they are soft footed and make less noise, loose clothing makes noise. You pace your breathing so you can take slow measured breathes. When taking a step, you always know where your foot will fall, never stepping on something that will make noise. On top of this, we ANBU have additional abilities that help with having us remain undetected. Some of you may have begun working on them already. Can any of you give me an example of one of these jutsu?" he spoke to the class, briefly forgetting the last time he had asked a question.

"Oh right, I have to choose the volunteer... well then, how about," he started, looking around the room once more. Though all were paying attention or pretending to now to be safe, still none were quick to speak up. How to choose this time? His eyes wandered to Shogi, the only player character in the room. He had been the last to enter, the was fair criteria for choosing him. Additionally, being a trainee for some time he was most likely to know the answer. "Clockwork, give me an example," he said, waiting for him to respond. Of course he wouldn't volunteer to answer, my Touma had faith he would if called upon.

 

[Rabieru]

Unlike what he expected, nobody in the room dared to answer the question given by the instructor and the teacher was forced to select one of the students to participate. The hedonist listened to the answers given by the student, a mere child, and stayed silent while retaining his position that mimicked Touma's. The mysterious being behind the black mask, who was called Clockwork, was getting less interested in this lesson of fundamentals by the second. In truth, he was in no level to be taking such theoretic classes that were meant for children and his shinobi skills, if put into test, would rival any of the top assassins and fighters within the country. But there was never a situation or a chance to prove such skills because the hedonist hated getting into such troubles and always took a step back. He liked it better this way, wasting his time here and then and continuing to survive and enjoy his pleasures as if holding onto a thin, old rope of life. Such life would continue until one day he died. There would be no great feelings of accomplishment, but there wouldn't be any regrets either.

Daydreaming behind his pitch black mask, the green eyes lit up and stared at Shuusei Touma after being called upon. Slightly remembering the content of the question while dreaming, he felt extremely tired to even reply but knew better than to keep his mouth shut and be kicked out of the class. That would be even more troublesome. The atmosphere of the lecture was making him sleepy but he had to fight against it to retain his status within the ANBU Corps. Without thinking for a long time, he calmly gave his answer, "A basic jutsu that almost every academy student knows but most people don't realize how effectively it can be put to use. Transformation. The user can use it to alter his form to blend in with the surroundings. Stealth also doesn't mean that you have to disappear. You can use it creatively to transform into the enemy himself, a clone, or whatever your imagination allows. Heh." He chuckled after giving the reply that seemed to flow out of his mouth eloquently and he felt like a retard for becoming so serious in a class of this level and also wondered what in the world he was doing here.

[MFT - WC: 398]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Of course Touma knew that Shogi was no mere trainee, despite his rank. The question wasn't asked expecting him to draw a blank, but rather to ensure he wasn't completely withdrawn from the class. He had been around for quite some time and naturally one would pick up tricks along the way. Even if his rank reflected that he was a trainee, it was not because his skill was that of one. This was often the case in the ANBU, but all who came to ANBU had to go through the same steps to progress. It required skill, but it also required you to actually want to progress. That had probably been Shogi's sole problem, but maybe soon he would find motivation. Based on the answer, it seemed Shogi wasn't paying full attention to the question or had otherwise chosen to take it in another direction. Regardless, it was a good answer that was a valuable point for the class.

"True, Transformation is a technique often taught in the Academy which some forget to take advantage of when they learn other techniques. This is a topic about stealth, but even in the midst of battle, if you're facing multiple opponents and transform into one of them you can easily confuse the other in the chaos of a fight. On the topic of stealth, it could indeed be very useful. For instance, in a guarded compound one might transform into one of said guards and fool another into taking over their shift, only to then walk right on through that door that was being guarded. That is a good point, though not specifically what I was asking for. ANBU have their own guarded techniques, some of which enhance stealth abilities. Speaking of disappearing," he responded, then moving onto the ANBU techniques which he referred to. He performed a quick few handseals and then his clothing began to alter its appearance, taking on the colors of his surroundings. From different angles, it appeared differently actually making him quite difficult to see even under the light. At night it would be nigh impossible.

"This technique is known as Active Camo, and essentially it lets you cheat at Stealth. Not only does it cause your clothing to blend into your surroundings, it also silences your movement for you from your footsteps to rustling clothing. Very useful for missions, as your clothing camouflage automatically adapts to your surroundings as you move. Of course, even if you're invisible you're going to leave evidence of your presence unless you're very careful. Displaced leaves, snapped twigs, footprints in snow... bodies left behind," he continued, leading up to the next jutsu of their discussion. "Can anybody tell me an ANBU jutsu that helps with that?" he asked, scanning the room. He didn't know why he held hope for someone to volunteer, but he figured he would give them another chance regardless.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

[topic left due to inactivity - if you'd like to resume, let me know]